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No. 623,637. Patented Apr. 25, I899.

L. S. THOMPSON.

SHIPS TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, &c.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 189B. Renewed Oct. 1, 1898.

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Patented Apr. 25, I899. L. s. THOMPSON. SHIPS TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, &c.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed Oct. 1, 1898.

8 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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No. 623,637. Patented Apr. 25, 1899.

L. S. THOMPSON.

SHIP'S TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, 8w.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed Oct. 1, 1398.- (No Model.) 8 Sheds-Sheet 3.

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No. 623,637. Patented Apr. 25, I899. L. s. THOMPSON.

SHIPS TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, 81.0.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed Oct. 1, 1898.-

(No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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No. 623,637. Ptented Apr. 25,1899,-

|.. s. THOMPSON.

SHIP' S TELEGRAPH FUR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, 8w.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed Oct. 1, 1898.

8 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

No. 623,637, Patent ed Apr. 25, I899.

L. S. THOMPSON. SHIP'S TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, 8w.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed But. 1, 1898. (No Model.) 8 Shaets5heet 6.

No. 623,637. Patenteii Apr. 25, I899. L. S. THOMPSON. SHIPS TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, 8L0.

(Application filed. Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed Oct. 1, 1698.v

8 SheotsSbeet 7.

(No Model.)

No. 623,637 Patented Apr. 25, I899.

L. s. THOMPSON. SHIPS TELEGRAPH FUR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, &c.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1898. Renewed Oct (No Model.) 8 Sheeis$heet ilnrran STATES PATENT Ounce.

LEON S. THOMPSON, OF YVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SHIPS TELEGRAPH FOR TRANSMITTING SIGNALS, ORDERS, 8. .0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,637, dated April 25, 1899.

Application filed February 23, 1898. Renewed October 1, 1898- Serial No. 692,361. (No modeLl To all whom, it 17mg concern:

Be it known that I, LEON S. THOMPSON, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ships Telegraphs for Transmitting Signals, Orders, &e.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and

exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of an instrument used for the transmission and receipt of signals or messages in an embodiment of my invention for telegraphing between a ships bridge or other point and the engineroom. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said instrument. Fig. 3 is a section taken in a horizontal plane on the line 00 .13, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section taken in a vertical plane on the line y y of Fig. 1. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively sections taken in vertical planes on the lines 2' z and 0c a, Fig. 4, thetransmitter and receiver devices being shown in Fig. (3 in positions for different signals. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the switch mechanisms and wiring of the complete system for communicating between the two stations; Fig. 8, a like view showing but a single circuit from each instrument to the other, and Fig. 9 a diagrammatic view to illustrate the invention when embodied in a helm-angle indicator.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The object of my invention is the provision of mechanism for the telegraphing or transmission of signals,- messages, or indications from one point'or place to another that will be simple of construction and reliable in its operation; and to this end said invention consists in the mechanism having the features of construction substantially as hereinafter specifiedl The object I have had more especially in view in the making of my invention is'the provision of an electricallyoperated telegraph or a message or indication sending mechanism that will be adapted for use on shipboard, and in devising my mechanism I have given careful consideration to the special conditions that exist aboard ship and have sought to avoid the defects in the appliances heretofore used which have manifested themselves in actual use and which, being due to causes that inhere in the principles on which said appliances have been devised, have resulted in their being objected to as impractical. Having been made in the light of the knowledge of the causes which have occasioned the failure in actual use of appliances heretofore used and of the special conditions which are to be met, my invention will be found to answer all of the requirements for use aboard ship. It is to be understood, however, that I do not restrict the use of my invention to those embodiments thereof which are especially adapted for use on ships, for it may be used elsewhere.

In Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings I illustrate myinvention as embodied in a telegraph for communicating between the ships bridge or other point and the engine-room for directing the running of the engines, and in such embodiment I employ a transmitter and a receiver at each point, the transmitter at one point being connected with the receiver at the other point. lhe purpose of this duplication is to enable the message from the bridge to be repeated back from the engine-room, so that the sender on the bridge may know that the message has been correctly received and understood by the engineer.

For the purposes of compactness and convenience the transmitting and receiving mechanisms at each point are mounted in the same casing, and as the said mechanisms at the two points are alike I show in the detailed illustration but a single instrument; butitis to be borne in mind that the transmitting mechanism thereof is connected with and actu'ates the receiving mechanism of the other instrument and that the receiving mechanism thereof is connected with and actuated from the transmitter of said other instrument. The instrument selected for detail illustration is the one on the bridge, and it is shown as mounted on a pedestal A, its casing 13 being cylindrical in form and constructed so to be water-tight for the protection of the inclosed mechanism from moisture. Journaled in any suitable manner at the center of the casing, as by boxes I) and I), attached, respectively, to the casing-back and 10 a standard rising from the casingbottom, is a shaft O, one end of which projects beyond the front side thereof and is provided with a handle D, in the form of a radial arm or crank, of such length that the grip part E thereof projects suliiciently far beyond the periphery of the casing as to enable it to be readily grasped and moved. \Vithin the casing and well near the back thereof the shaft C has a radially-extending arm i which upon its side next said casingback carries a brush or contact-piece G, that is adapted to be placed successively in contact with each one or any two adjacent ones of a semicircular series of contact-pieces II and II, that are secured to the casing-back, being suitably insulated therefrom and from each other, and thus close a circuit, to be hereinafter described, through any one or any two adjacent contacts. The circuit of which each contact- II forms a part includes a batteryI or other source of electrical energy and a solenoid magnet K. The series of coils forming the solenoids are mounted on a com mon tubular non-magnetic support L and arranged in a semicircle in the casing 13 of the complementary instrument in the engineroom, the order of the coils in such series corresponding with the order of the contacts H and 1]. Thus the closing of the circuit through a particular contact II at the transmitting instrument will result in the energizing of the corresponding coil in thereceiving instrument.

The armature M, upon which the solenoids operate, is in the form of a core that is preferably longer than one solenoid and is attached to a circular bar or light wheel N,that has a curvature concentric with the axial center of the solenoids and is supported concentric with the latter by a single radial arm 0, that projects from a sleeve I, journaled to turn freely on the cylindrical exterior of the box or bearing 1) of the shaft C. The wheel N is provided with a weight a at a point diametrically opposite the armature M to counterbalance the latter. Attached to the sleeve I so as to partake of the movements of the armature M, is a hand or index Q, that cooperates with a dial R, having the words Back, Stop, and Ahead, and in connaction with the first the words Full, Fast, and Slow, and in connection with the \VOl't Ahead the same words and also numbers to indicate the revolutions or speed desired. The dial R may be used by the operator for his guidance in sending the desired message, the arm F being provided for this object with a forward extension, whose end is bent down over the periphery of the dial, forming an index f. Preferably, however, as being more convenient to look at, the outer periphery of the casing 13 has the same markings as the dial R, and a hand or pointer S is attached to the handle D to cooperate therewith. The pointer S, carried by the handle I), is bent laterally, as best shown in Fig. 2, so as to place the latter in such position that it will stand at a different angle from and thus not obscure the hand Q when the repeated message is indicated by the latter. As the engine-room instrument will be differently mounted from the bridge instrument, its transmitter-handle will be placed to swing over the portion of the dial upon which there are no markings. I do not, however, confine myself to any particular arrangement of handle on either instrument, as the handle can be arranged in any desired way, or, indeed, other means used to operate the brush-carrying arm.

Theface of the casing is of course closed by glass or other transparent substance to expose the dial R and hand Q, the glass being secured in any well-known manner, as by a ring T, engaging its edge and screwed upon the casing B.

As the brush G is always in contact with one or two of the contacts II and II, I provide a switch to openand close the circuit through the brush, so as to work with an open circuit. Said switch comprises two contact-plates U and U, secured to opposite sides of a slot f in the arm F, that are electrically connected with said brush, and contact-plates V and Y on an arm or lever WV, pivoted to the arm F and movable into and out of contact with the plates U and U. The lever \V is connected through an axial openingin the shaft C with the innerend of an operating-lever Y, that is pivoted to the side of the handle D, with its outer end arranged in such relation to the grip of said handle D that in grasping the latter to move it the operator will also grasp said lever and squeeze or press its outer end toward the handle-grip, and thereby swing the contact or switch lever \V to press the contacts V and V between and against the contacts U and U. A spring Z, pressing against the handle end of the lever Y, operates, when free to act, to move the switchlever to break the circuit. To insure that the lever Y shall be operated to close the circuit by means of the switch before the handle D can be moved and also while it is being moved, a locking device is provided to prevent movement of the transmitter-handle unless said lever Y is operated. As shown, said locking device consists of a rack A on the face of the casing I3 and a pin or rod y], that is connected at one end to the lever Y and passing through the handle D projects beyond the same, so that it may be moved into and out of engagement with a tooth or notch of the rack. The movement of the lever Y required to free the handle D effects the closing of the circuit by the switch-lever IV.

IIO

The switch-lever contacts V-and V of the the contact-plates H H, &c., of the instrument of which the solenoids are a part, and wires E E, &c., connect the similar contacts H H, &c., of the two instruments. With the brush G of the bridge-transmitter resting upon a particular contact H (see Fig. 8) and the circuit closed by the operation of the switch-lever TV the current will pass from the battery Ito said contact H, thence along wire E to the contact H of the engine-room instrument, and thence to and through the coil of the proper solenoid K of the engine-room receiver back to the battery, energizingthe solenoid and operating the armature to produce the desired indication. The armature M is retained in the position to which it may be moved, notwithstanding the breaking of the circuit, by means of a brake in the form of a curved arm F, that is pressed into contact with the periphery of the sleeve P by means of a spring G. from contact with the sleeve to free it by an electrom'agnet H, that is placed in the abovedescribed circuit in series, whose armature h is attached to a lever I, to which the brakearm F is connected. Thus the closing of the circuit will simultaneously free the solenoidarmature and energize the solenoid.

It is desirable that there shall be an audible signal in the engine-room each time a message is sent. Two electric bells K and K, of different tones, are therefore placed in the engine-room, one of which is to be rung when the message is to go ahead, the other when it is to back, and both when the message is to stop. The bell-circuits are opened and closed by the switch-lever W, which has contacts V and V, which cooperate with contacts L and L, that are electrically connected with a brush f upon the arm F, which is adapted to bear against either of two segment-shaped contacts M and M and both of them where they are near together.

To prevent the too rapid movement of the transmitter-handle, with the possible danger of cutting a solenoid out of circuit before it has acted on the armature M, it may be advisable to employ some form of retarding device. 1 illustrate a familiar device for this purpose, which consists of a closed cylinder N, filled with oil or other fluid, and a perforated piston or disk 0 therein, which is attached by rod-s or arms 0 and 0 with the arm F. The cylinder N and the rods 0 and 0 are of course curved concentric with the axis of the shaft 0.

For the illumination of the face of the dial at night small incandescent electric lights P and P are arranged within the casing B in such position as to most advantageously light up the matter on the dial.

As the transmitter on the bridge and the receiver in the engine-room are in their operation entirely distinct from and independent of the transmitter in the engine-room and the receiver on the bridge, and vice versa, the circuit connecting one transmitter and its re- Said brake is removed ceiver is independent of the circuit of the other transmitter and its receiver, and each circuit has its own battery 1. Attention is called to the fact that in Figs. 7 and 8 the like parts of the two sets of instruments and their electrical connections are lettered alike.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Suppose the message last sent was Stop, and, as shown in Fig. 5, the hand Q points to such signal, and it is desired to signal the engineer to back slowly. The operator on the bridge grasps the handle D and, pressing the lever Y, releases the handle D and closes the circuit by means of the switch lever W through the contact II, that is con-' nected with the solenoid which placed the armature M so that the hand Q of the engineroom instrument pointed to- Stop, which circuit includes the brake-releasing magnet H. Thus both the latter and said solenoid will be energized at the same time, and though the armature M will be released by said magnet H the energizing of the solenoid will cause its retention in the same position, and if the handle D be moved to the signal Back, Slow, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

-the brush G will move to the contact H, which is the one next to the contact H, controlling the signal Stop, and energizing the next solenoid the engine-room armature M will be drawn into the latter and cause the hand Q to point to the desired signal. Inasmuch as the brush G is long enough to touch two adjacent contacts at the same time it is apparent that the circuit through the first solenoid will continue closed for an interval after the circuit through the next one is closed, so that not only will the armature M not be free from the control of a solenoid while the signal is being changed, but before the brush has fully passed from one contact H to the next it is subjected to the action of two adjoining solenoids, and hence will move to center itself between them, so that by the time the first contact and its solenoid are cut out of circuit and the brush'is only in contact with the next contact the armature will have partially moved. A further advantage of closing the circuit through two adjacent solenoids simultaneously, with the consequent centering of the armature between the two, is that indications double the number of the solenoids, less one, can be secured, this being of special moment where, as is shown, the number of revolutions of the engine is to be signaled, and hence a great number of signals is provided. The handle D, having been moved to carry its pointer S to the desired signal-mark on the casing, is released, and the circuit is automatically broken, the handle is automatically locked from movement, and the engine-room hand Q automatically locked by the brake F. It is to be noted that the only parts of the engine-room instrument that are moved when the signal is transmitted from the bridge are the armature 1 II, the wheel N, to which it is attached, and the hand or IIO index Q. The signal having been received by the engineer, he operates the transmitterhandle of the engine-room instrument to place the pointer thereof corresponding to the pointer S at the signal-mark agreeing with the signal he has received and by closing the circuit through the appropriate solenoid of the bridge-receiver causes the hand or index Q of the latter to move to the proper signal on the bridge-receiver.

It is necessary in the operation of the transmitter for the operator to actuate but two parts, the releasing and circuit-closing lever Y and the handle D, and these two are associated together, so that the operation of both is virtually but a single act, and at the receiver there are but two parts to operate, the brake and the armature M, carrying the hand or index. My apparatus is thus not only simple to operate, but its parts are few and simple and not liable to derangement even when used on board ships of war and subjccted to the shocks or jars from the firing of heavy guns and other causes which have been found to disorder and render useless or worse than useless those forms of electric telegraphs based on the step-by-step and differential principles. If by any contingency my apparatus should become disordered, the effect would be to render it inoperative to send any message at'all and not a false message, and it is obviously infinitely preferable that no message rather than a false one be sent.

For ships having two engine-rooms each of the latter will have its own instrument and there will be two instruments placed back to back upon the bridge, so that both can be conveniently operated by one person.

Other embodiments of myinvention for use on shipboard may be used, such as a battleorder transmitter, a range-indicator, a steering-telegraph, and a helm-angle indicator. In Fig. 9 I illustrate an embodiment of it for the last-named purpose, which comprises a single transmitter that is actuated by the rudder and a single receiver located at the desired point, there being of course no duplication of instruments such as characterizes the bridge and engine-room telegraph. To eliminate the feature of the circuit opening and closing device that is used with the latter, a closed circuit is employed with the helmangle indicator, and hence the transmitter consists simply of a series of contact-plates II and 11 corresponding with the contactplates lI and'II, and an arm F attached to and moving with the rudder-post C that carries a brush or contact G which travels over the series of contacts H and II as the rudder swings. The receiver is constructed precisely like the one already described for the bridge and engine-room telegraph, the solenoids thereof being electrically connected by wires with the respective plates I1 and I1 and with a common conductor that includes a battery I and leads to the brush G on arm F As the latter, accompanying the motions of the rudder, carries the brush from one contact H to another the circuit will be shunted from one solenoid to the next or simultaneously to two, and the hand or index Q indicates on the dial the angle at which the rudderstands. The dial is preferably in the form of a scale marked to denote by degrees the angle of the rudder both to starboard and port, and while said scale is shown as extending through one hundred and eighty degrees of a circle the number of degrees actually designated is of course those included in the angle in which the rudder swings, which, as shown, is seventy degrees. The angular position of the hand on the dial does not agree -with-the angle of the rudder; but the dialmark to which the hand points shows the angle of the rudder. Vhile I have described several embodiments of my invention and have set forth ecrtain constructions as adapted for particular embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention extends beyond these and that other and dissimilar forms and structures may be made which will nevertheless embody its principles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A receiver or indicator comprising a series of solenoids, an armature in the form of a core, to cooperate therewith, adapted to have its position relative to the series of solenoids changed by the energizing of the different solenoids of the series, and indicating means whose indications are produced by the energizing of the solenoids, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A receiver or indicator comprising a series of solenoids, a movable armature in the form of a core, adapted to have its position changed by the energizing of the different solenoids of the series, and indicating means whose indications are produced by the move- IIO ments of the armature effected by the ener- I gizing of the solenoids, substantially as and for the purpose described.

A receiver or indicator comprising a series of solenoids, an armature in the form of a core adapted to have its position changed by the energizing of the different solenoids of the series, and indicating means whose indications are produced by the energizing of the solenoids, in combination with means for placing said solenoids in and out of circuit with a source of electric energy, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

at. A receiver or indicator comprising a series of solenoids, an armature therefor in the form of a core, adapted to have its position changed by the energizing of the different solenoids of the series, and an index connected with the armature, in combination with means for placing said solenoids in and out of circuit with a source of electric energy, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

5. A receiver, or indicator, comprising a series of solenoids, an armature in the form of a core, and an index connected with the latter, in combination with a transmitter comprising aseries of fixed contacts,each of which is electrically connected with a solenoid, and a traveling contact electrically connected with all of the solenoids, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. A-receiver, or indicator, comprising a series of solenoids, an armature in the form of a core, and an index connected with the latter, in combination with a transmitter comprising a series of fixed contacts, a traveling contact, and a circuit opening and closing device, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

7. A receiver, or indicator, comprising a se-. sies of solenoids, an armature in the form of a core, and an indicating mechanism whose indications are produced by the en ergizin'g of the solenoids, in combination with a transmitter comprising a series of fixed contacts, a traveling contact, an arm carrying the.latter, a make-and-break device mounted on said arm, means for moving said arm, and means foroperatiug said device, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

8. In combination with two transmitters comprising each a series of fixed contacts and a traveling contact, 'a receiver for use with each transmitter, an armature, and devices capable of being electrically energized to attract the armature, electrical connections between the latter and the movable contact of the transmitter, and electrical connections between the similar fixed contacts of the two transmitters, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

9. A receiver or indicator comprising a circularly-arranged series of solenoids, a core movable in an axial direction therethrough adapted to have its position changed by the energizing of the different solenoids of the series, and an indicator connected with and partaking of the movement of the core, substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. A receiver or indicator comprising a series of solenoids, a core within the same and movable in an axial direction therethrough adapted to have its position changed by the ranged series of solenoids, a core movable in an axial direction therethrough adapted to have its position changed by the energizing of the different solenoids of the series, a ringform support for said core, journaled concentric with the series of solenoids, and an indicator connected with and partaking of the movement of the core, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

12. The combination of a curved series of devices capable of being electrically energized, an armature mounted on an axis concentric with said devices, and a transmitter comprising a series of fixed contacts, and a movable contact, the latter being carried by an arm that is mounted on an axis concentric with that of the armature, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

13. The combination of a transmitter comprising a suitably-journaled shaft, an arm carried by the latter having a movable contact, anda series of fixed contacts, and a receiver comprising a ring-form armature-support journaled concentric with said shaft, an indicator carried by said support, a curved series of solenoids mounted concentric with said shaft, and an armature on said support, substantially as and for the purpose described.

14. The combination of a series of solenoids, an armature to cooperate therewith, a series of fixed contacts, respectively connected With the solenoids, and a movable contact, constructed so that it may rest upon one fixed contact at a time, or upon two adjacent ones at a time, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this n3d day of February, 1898.

LEON S. THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

C. J. WILLIAMSON, JAs. E. HUTCHINSON. 

